Five Votes Down
PUSH FOR GUN BILL PASSAGE PROVES COSTLY; STORY BY POLITICAL INSIDERS PATRICK CADDELL AND LAWRENCE O'DONNELL -- Presidential chief of staff Leo McGarry (John Spencer) needs five more House votes to pass a bill restricting the sale of automatic firearms -- but the cost might be too high, especially if he has to go to the unpredictable Vice President (guest star Tim Matheson) to help put them over the top. The staff's annual financial disclosure statements prove to be thorny for Toby (Richard Schiff), whose innocent technology stock purchase last year proved to be wildly profitable, which raises eyes due to his association with an expert in the field. In addition, Leo's long hours on the job cause an unforeseen crisis at home, and the President (Martin Sheen) unintentionally mixes up the potent medications he receives for his ailing back. Summary Cast :Rob Lowe as Sam Seaborn :Moira Kelly as Mandy Hampton :Dulé Hill as Charlie Young :Allison Janney as C.J. Cregg :Richard Schiff as Toby Ziegler :John Spencer as Leo McGarry :Bradley Whitford as Josh Lyman :and Martin Sheen as President Bartlet Special Guest Star :Tim Matheson as Vice President John Hoynes Recurring cast :Janel Moloney as Donna Moss Guest Starring :Michael McGuire as Congressman Cal Tillinghouse :Thom Barry as Congressman Mark Richardson :Jay Underwood as Congressman Christopher Wick :Mark Blum as Congressman Katzenmoyer :Sara Botsford as Jenny McGarry :Jillian Armenante as Leela Co-Starring :Kathryn Joosten as Dolores Landingham :NiCole Robinson as Margaret Hooper :Devika Parikh as Bonnie :Jackie Mari Roberts as Janeane :Bradley James as Donnie :Mongo Brownlee as Secret Service Agent :Cynthia Abeln as Female Groupie #1 :Paige Taylor Adams as Female Groupie #2 :Hannah Cheek as Female Groupie #3 :Penny Griego as Newscaster #1 :Sheila Frazier as Newscaster #2 :Ivan Allen as Roger Salier :Victor Love as Mike :Mia Tate as a Cocktail Waitress :Melissa Fitzgerald as Carol Fitzpatrick :Julia Pearlstein as a Volunteer Quotes :Sam Seaborn: Where are you going? :Josh Lyman: Where are you going? :Sam Seaborn: I was following you. :Josh Lyman: I was following you. All right, don't tell anyone this happened, okay? "The West Wing" Five Votes Down (1999) — Quotes and trivia copied from IMDb Trivia * Josh and Mandy broke up on July 9. It's unclear whether it was during the campaign in 1998, or more recently, in 1999. * In the pre-credits sequence there is one continuous steadycam shot which begins when the president leaves the ball room and ends when he reaches the motorcade outside. To get there the ensemble have to travel down flights of stairs, along corridors and keep the dialogue going with pin-point precision! Says Rob Lowe: "You'll have to ask Tommy Schlamme how many takes it was. It was either in the twenties or the thirties. The steadycam operator literally fell over from exhaustion when it was done. It's amazing that we did that in a weekly television show. In a movie, that would be a staggering achievement." * President Bartlet's back problems and medication is similar to the real back problems of President John F. Kennedy * Cal Tillinghouse - the Democrat from Texas who opposes the gun reform bill in this episode - shares the same last name with the secretary of Jed Bartlet's father, who preceded Mrs LandinghamTwo Cathedrals CONTINUITY * Leo's wife leaves him in this episode. The divorce is finalized in The Portland Trip. * Leo's alcoholism is first hinted at. His problem with substance abuse would become a subplot of the first season. ** John Hoynes's alcoholism is also first mentioned. This would come up in Season Three when the Staff is briefly considering replacing Hoynes as the VP in the election. ERRORS *Does Martin Sheen almost kill the "walk and talk" at the beginning of the show? As the ensemble nears the exit of the building, Sheen delivers his line about Toby being a 'pain the ass'. If you listen carefully there is a groaning sound - Charlie jumps in with "Mr President" and Sheen replies "Oh yes, Charlie, by the way - did the first lady call?" Had Sheen forgotten his line and Hill jumps in to try and save the scene? You decide! *Leo's home in the Pilot epsiode, had a lawn and appeared suburban. Here, it's in a street looks urban. *Several weapons are referenced in this episode. The "Rutger Mini-14" is mentioned several times, actually refering to the Ruger Mini-14, a gun that is indeed similar to the AR-15. When talking to Chris Wick Josh claims the "Mac-90, PCR, and NFR" are "both" copy cats of the AR-15 assault rifle except the grip is changed. This would be accurate if talking about the ARES SCR, however the Mak-90 would be more accurately described as a civilian version of the AK-47, the only PCR rifle that exists is bolt action and thus not similar to the AR-15, and the NFR is not a gun. In addition the Tec-9 is spelled in the captions as the "Tech-9" several times. There is also no such thing as the "Pat Maxi" grenade launcher. Congressman Richardson references the TEC DC-9, which is another name for the TEC-9 Josh says is getting banned, and both the Striker-12 and Street Sweeper, the latter of which is a complete copy of the former. Following this he says the "40 gauge barrel" which is unlikely to be addressed in a gun control bill since gauges are only ever used in reference to shotguns. He also references the "30 round clip and 20 round clip" most likely meaning magazine as most gun control bills address. At the end a reporter mentions the Mini-9, which in 1999 was not a gun that existed, and is probably mixed up with the TEC-9 and the Ruger Mini-14, which this reporter calls the Rutger-14. *Toby claims to drive a 1993 Dodge Dart, but these where only produced from 1963 to 1976."The West Wing" Five Votes Down (1999) — Quotes and trivia copied from IMDb Photos 104.png 104bartlet.png 104toby.png Crew Opening credits #Aaron Sorkin - Creator #W.G. Snuffy Walden - Music #Michael Hissrich - Co-producer #Kristin Harms - Producer #Jeff Reno - Consulting Producer #Ron Osborn - Consulting Producer #Llewellyn Wells - Episodic Producer #Aaron Sorkin - Teleplay #Lawrence O'Donnell Jr. and #Patrick Caddell - Story #Michael Lehmann - Director Closing credits #Aaron Sorkin - Executive Producer #Thomas Schlamme - Executive Producer #John Wells - Executive Producer #Rick Cleveland - Co-producer #Peter Parnell - Executive Story Editor #Paul Redford - Story Editor #Patrick Caddell - Consultant #Dee Dee Myers - Consultant #Robert W. Glass, III - Associate Producer #Thomas Del Ruth - Director of Photography #Kenneth Hardy - Production Designer #Bill Johnson - Editor #Robert P. Cohen - Unit Production Manager #Chris Stoia - First Assistant Director #Stacy Fish - Second Assistant Director #Barbara Miller - Executive in Charge of Casting #John Levey - Casting #Kevin Scott - Casting Notes and references Category:Episodes Category:Season 1